A week after coach Darian DeVries left for West Virginia, the Drake men’s basketball team has hired Ben McCollum from Division II Northwest Missouri State, the university announced Monday.
๐๐๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ โผ๏ธ
We are excited to announce the hiring of Ben McCollum as the 30th head coach in Drake men’s basketball history.#DrakeALLIN | #DSMHometownTeam | @CoachMcCollum pic.twitter.com/qwGOv5FQJK
โ Drake Basketball (@DrakeBulldogsMB) April 1, 2024
McCollum, 42, has guided the Bearcats to four Division II national titles since 2017 and has won the last 11 MIAA conference championships. Northwest Missouri State lost the regional title this year to Minnesota State-Mankato 43-42 on a buzzer-beater. The Bearcats won Division II championships in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
It was 394-91 overall, but since 2017, Northwest was 253-21.
During DeVries’ six years at Drake, the Bulldogs were 150-55 and had six straight 20-win campaigns. Drake has appeared in three of the last four NCAA tournaments and has won the last two Missouri Valley Conference tournament titles.
What does this mean for Drake
McCollum’s success in a strong Division II league proves his prowess as a coach. There will be a slight upward adjustment in recruiting, but not as sharp as it might seem at first glance.
McCollum is originally from Storm Lake in northwest Iowa and has recruited primarily from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, as well as the Chicago area, all of which are key areas of the Bulldogs imprint. McCollum will now have access to slightly superior talent in this region.
DeVries was widely respected and it was time for him to take over on a power conference program. McCollum has earned the same respect in basketball circles. He played junior college basketball at North Iowa Area Community College, followed by two years at Northwest.
For 12 straight seasons, the Bearcats have won at least 25 games โ the longest streak in the NCAA.
Required reading
(Photo: AJ Mast / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)